How to Fill Out and File Form 122C: Deductions and Disposable Income

Form 122C-2 is the Chapter 13 disposable income calculation that above-median debtors must file to show how much of their monthly income has to go to unsecured creditors. You carry your current monthly income from Form 122C-1 into this form, subtract a mix of IRS standard allowances and documented payments on secured and priority debts, and end up with a single number that sets the floor for what your repayment plan pays unsecured creditors over 60 months. You file it with the bankruptcy clerk on the petition date or within 14 days after.

Who Has to File Form 122C-2

Every Chapter 13 debtor completes Form 122C-1, which averages your gross income over the six full calendar months before filing. If that average multiplied by 12 exceeds the median family income for your state and household size, you also complete Form 122C-2.¹ Below-median debtors generally skip 122C-2 and propose a plan built on actual living expenses from Schedule J.

The requirement comes from 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(3), which forces above-median filers to use the standardized expense categories from the Chapter 7 means test rather than a flexible personal budget.² Because you are above the median, your plan will run five years. No Chapter 13 plan may exceed that regardless of income.³

What to Gather Before You Start

Have all of the following in front of you. Missing any one of them can stall the calculation or force an amendment.

Your completed Form 122C-1. The current monthly income line carries directly into 122C-2.⁴
The IRS National Standards table for food, housekeeping, clothing, personal care, and miscellaneous. For 2025, a single person gets $839 per month; a family of four gets $2,129; each additional person adds $394.⁵
The IRS Local Standards for housing, utilities, and transportation in your county or metro area. Download them from the U.S. Trustee Program’s means-testing page and use the version in effect on your petition date; the current data applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2025.⁶
Mortgage or rent statements showing your actual monthly payment.
Vehicle loan or lease contracts, with both the monthly payment and the total due over the next 60 months.
Recent tax returns or pay stubs to work out actual monthly federal, state, local, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, adjusted for any refund.
Health and disability insurance premium statements for you, your spouse, and dependents.
Court orders for child support or alimony, plus a payment history.
Receipts for childcare, private-school tuition, out-of-pocket health costs, and charitable giving.

Part 1: Working Through the Deductions

Part 1 runs from roughly line 6 through line 36 and moves through five groups of deductions.

National Standards, Lines 6 and 7

Line 6 is the IRS National Standards allowance for food, clothing, housekeeping supplies, personal care, and miscellaneous. Look up the figure for your household size and enter it; you do not need receipts for what you actually spend in these categories.⁷ Line 7 is the out-of-pocket health care allowance, a fixed IRS figure based on age.

Local Standards, Lines 8 Through 15

Lines 8 through 10 handle housing and utilities. Line 8 is the local standard for your county, which bundles mortgage or rent, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and utilities. On line 9, enter your actual average monthly payment on any secured debt against your home: add everything contractually due to each secured creditor over the 60 months after filing and divide by 60.⁴ Line 10 subtracts line 9 from line 8; any positive remainder is the net housing deduction.

Lines 11 through 15 handle transportation. The local standards split it into ownership costs (loan or lease payments) and operating costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration). With a car payment, you claim both. With a paid-off car, you claim only operating costs. Filers without a vehicle claim a nationwide public-transportation figure.

Other Necessary Expenses, Lines 16 Through 23

These lines take your actual monthly spending, but each item must be reasonable and necessary.

Line 16, taxes. Enter what you actually pay each month in federal, state, and local income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare. If you usually receive a refund, divide the expected refund by 12 and subtract that amount from your withholding.⁴
Line 17, involuntary payroll deductions such as mandatory retirement contributions, union dues, and uniform costs. Voluntary 401(k) contributions do not belong here.
Line 18, term-life insurance premiums. Whole-life investment components do not count.
Line 19, court-ordered domestic support such as child support or alimony.
Line 20, education expenses reasonably necessary for your employment or for a disabled child.
Line 21, actual monthly childcare costs for dependents.
Line 22, out-of-pocket health care above what line 7 already covers.
Line 23, cell phone, internet, and basic telephone.

Additional Expense Deductions, Lines 25 Through 31

These cover situations the standard allowances miss. Every one requires documentation.

Line 25, reasonably necessary health insurance, disability insurance, and HSA contributions for you, your spouse, and dependents.⁸
Line 26, care of an elderly, chronically ill, or disabled household or immediate family member who cannot pay their own way. Contributions to a qualified ABLE program go here.
Line 27, expenses to protect against family violence under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. The court keeps these confidential.
Line 28, the amount by which your actual home energy bills exceed what is already built into the line 8 housing standard. You need receipts.
Line 29, up to $214.58 per child per month for private or public elementary or secondary school tuition for a dependent under 18. Document actual spending and explain why lines 6 through 23 do not already cover it.⁴
Line 30, additional food and clothing above the national standard, capped at 5% of the combined food and clothing allowance.⁸
Line 31, cash or financial-instrument donations to a religious or charitable organization, capped at 15% of your gross monthly income.⁹

Debt-Payment Deductions, Lines 33 Through 36

Lines 33 and 34 cover payments on secured debts, including mortgages, car loans, and any arrearage the plan cures. For each secured debt, add everything contractually due over 60 months and divide by 60. Line 35 does the same for past-due priority claims such as back taxes or unpaid domestic support. Line 36 allows a deduction for Chapter 13 administrative expenses, up to 10% of projected plan payments, based on the percentage your district’s trustee charges.⁸

Part 2: Reaching Your Monthly Disposable Income

Part 2 starts with your current monthly income from Form 122C-1, subtracts the Part 1 total, and then makes a few statutory adjustments.

Line 40. Subtract any child support, foster care, or disability payments you receive for a dependent child, to the extent reasonably necessary for the child. The statute excludes this money from disposable income.⁹
Line 41. Subtract employer-withheld contributions to qualified retirement plans under 11 U.S.C. § 541(b)(7) and required repayments on retirement plan loans excepted from the automatic stay under § 362(b)(19).⁴
Line 43. If you have additional expenses no other line covers and no reasonable alternative exists, describe the circumstances and the amount. Trustees scrutinize this line closely, so document everything.

The remaining figure is your monthly disposable income. Multiplied by 60 months, it sets the minimum total your plan must pay unsecured creditors.

Parts 3 and 4: Changes and Signature

Part 3, line 46, asks whether your income or expenses have changed, or are virtually certain to change, since the petition date and during the life of the case. A lost job, a raise, or a new monthly obligation goes here. Courts can adjust projected disposable income based on known or virtually certain changes, so leaving this blank when your circumstances have shifted invites a trustee objection.

Part 4 is the signature block. You sign under penalty of perjury. Joint filers both sign.

Filing the Form

File Form 122C-2 with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court in the district where your case is pending. Under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007(c)(1), the deadline is your petition date or 14 days after filing, depending on which applies to your case.¹⁰ Missing that window risks dismissal.

Attorneys almost always upload the form through the court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system.¹¹ Pro se filers have varying options depending on the court: some allow limited CM/ECF access, others accept email, electronic upload, or paper filings that clerks docket for you.¹² Call your local clerk’s office before the deadline to confirm the accepted method.

What the Trustee Looks At

The Chapter 13 trustee reviews every number on the form before the confirmation hearing. Common flashpoints:

Expenses the trustee considers excessive, such as an additional home-energy claim or a private-school tuition figure. The argument is usually that your plan payment should be higher.
Commitment period disputes, where the trustee believes you belong on a 60-month plan rather than 36.
Disposable income not fully committed. Under § 1325(b)(1), if the trustee or an unsecured creditor objects, the court cannot confirm the plan unless all projected disposable income during the commitment period goes to unsecured creditors.²

When the trustee objects, you have to prove the plan meets every confirmation requirement. You can defend your numbers with documentation, amend the plan to increase payments or extend the timeline, or negotiate. The meeting of creditors (the 341 meeting) is usually where these questions first come up, so bring paperwork for any deduction you think might draw attention.

Penalties for Inaccurate Reporting

The Part 4 signature is not a formality. Knowingly and fraudulently concealing property, making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, or withholding information to deceive creditors carries up to five years in federal prison, a fine, or both under 18 U.S.C. § 152.¹³ The government does not need to prove the concealment succeeded, and a good-faith belief that the conduct was lawful is not a defense.

Honest mistakes cause their own problems. A trustee who spots misrepresented figures can move to dismiss the case or convert it to Chapter 7 liquidation. An arithmetic error or a misapplied standard can lead the court to deny confirmation and force you to refile. Check every line against the current IRS standards and your supporting documents before you sign.

1
Bloomberg Law. Bankruptcy, Sample Document – Calculation of Disposable Income (Annotated)
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
3
United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
4
United States Courts. Official Form 122C-2 – Chapter 13 Calculation of Your Disposable Income
5
U.S. Trustee Program. IRS National Standards for Allowable Living Expenses
6
U.S. Trustee Program. Means Testing
7
Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Another Chapter
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 – Confirmation of Plan
10
Cornell Law Institute. Rule 1007 – Lists, Schedules, Statements, and Other Documents
11
United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF)
12
Federal Judicial Center. Federal Courts Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 152